Work-feeding mechanism for stitching machines



y 30, 1929- s. BERGSTEIN ET AL 1,722,952

WORK FEEDING MECHANISM FOR STITCHING MACHINE-S Filed Oct. 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS A TTORNEYS July 30, 1929. I 5, BERGSTEIN ET AL 1,722,952

' WORK FEEDING MECHANISM FOR STITCHIN G MACHINES Filed 001:. 8, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS BY affiw ATTORNEYS 30, s. BERGSTEIN ET Al. 1,722,952

WORK FEEDING MECHANISM FOR STITCHING MACHINES Filed Oct. 8, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 I N VEN TORS ATTORNEYS ly 1929- s. BERGSTEIN ET AL 1,722,952

WORK FEEDING MECHANISM 1 0R STITCHING MACHINES Filed Oct. 8, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 ll 37 V IN V EN TO RS A TTORNEY3.

y v30, 1929- s. BERGSTEIN ET AL 1,722,952

WORK FEEDING MECHANISM FORSTITCHING MACHINES Fil ed Oct. 8. 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 BY m b ATTORNEY6 I Patented July 30, 1929.

UNITED STATES 1,722,952 PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL BERGSTEIN, OF CINCINNATI, AND

ARTHUR LINDNER, OF MIDDLETOWN,

OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO THE INTERSTATE FOLDING BOX COMPANY, OF MIDDLETOWN,

OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

WORK-FEEDING MECHANISM FOR STITCHIN G MACHINES.

Application filed October 8, 1926.

Our invention relates to work feeding mechanism in general and particularly to work feeding mechanism associated with stitching machine units by which paper containers to be stitched may be automatically carried and supported in work stitching position.

There are many types of containers in which closures are made most satisfactorily by stitching with wire, and stitching ma.- chines have been quite generally used for this purpose. Most stitching work has been done by manually feeding the containers into stitching position, inserting a stitch or r a series of stitches and then manually moving the cartons or boxesfor positioning the subsequent stitches in other posltions thereon.

It is the object of our invention to provide in combination with an endless belt conveyor preferably of the link chain type for mechanism which will be readily adjustable for different sizes of containers Which will enable the accurate positioning of a stitch or an interspaced series of stitches in asuccessive line of containers which are carried by the conveyor, one following the other. When the machine is once adjusted, a series of containers may be automatically fed to the conveyor and the mechanism will automatically stop the conveyor as each container comes into proper position for inserting a stitch. The machine which we have disclosed herein has been found to have a capacity for stitching containers at a rate which would replace the hand stitching of at least ten operators so that it represents a development in the art of considerable importance.

teferring to the drawings in which we have illustrated a preferred assembly in which one stitching machine is shown;

Figure 1 is a plan view of the assembly with parts not specifically relating to our invention, not shown for purposes of clearness.

Figure l is a detail of the mechanism. Figure l the turn over plates. 7

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section taken along the lines 22 of Figure 1 showing the, automatic stopping and releasing mechanism associated with the wire stitchlng machine in side elevation.

turn over plate is a detail of one of Serial No. 140,410.

Figure 5 is a vertical section along the lines 55 in Figure 1 showing the turn over guide for bending a flap of a carton into position to be stitched.

Figure 6 is a lateral vertical section along the lines 6-6 in Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a detail side elevation of our preferred type of assembly for automatically delivering containers to the endless chain belts. This View is a modification not shown in any of the other figures.

Figure 8 is a plan view of the blank for which the machine, as shown, is set up.

Figure 9 is a plan view of the blank shown in Figure 8 with the longitudinal flaps bent up into partially assembled position.

Figure 10 is a. perspective view of the blank showing the position of a container with the side edges partially interlocked after the retaining stitch has been inserted.

Figure 11 is an end elevation of the container after being stitched and set up.

Generally indicated at l is the supporting frame of the machine on which are a pair of endless chains 2 which I sprockets 3, mounted on a shaft suitably journaled in the supporting frame. It is essential for the operation of our automatic stopping and starting mechanism that a driving member for driving the sprockets be provided which can be stopped without danger of injury to the driving mechanism. Such a friction clutch is indicated at 4 and through the medium of this clutch the rotary movement of the pulley 5 is applied to the shaft 6 on which the driving sprocketsare mounted. The pulley 5 may be operated by means of a belt 7 driven from some convenient source of power as an electric motor. The particular fer to use is known in the trade as a fibre disc friction clutch, and as it forms no part of our invention further explanation of its operation is not thought to be necessary.

are driven from type of clutch which we pre- 1 ooincidently. Portions of a second stitcher are shown in Figure .3. Our automatic stopping and starting mechanism need not be provided in duplicate as the control for the starting and stopping may be governed from one set of parts as will be hereinafter explained.

The principle of operation which we prefer to adopt is as follows. Vi e feed containers to be stitched singly onto the chain conveyor. The chain conveyor has lugs projecting therefrom which when met by a blocking engagement will check and stop the movement of the conveyor. As the driving clutch for the conveyor will stop without danger of injury from overheating wehave but to stop the conveyor with the container on it in proper position with relation to the stitcher and connect the stopping mechanism with the starting mechanism of the stitcher and our primary purpose is accomplished.

In order to control the extent of the stitch ing however, and as we only usually desire to insert one stitch in one position on the container we also provide mechanism opeiated by the stitcher which will, toward the end of one stroke or at the end of predetermined number of strokes, automatically release the blocking means which is holding the conveyor, and the driving clutch will immediately take hold and move the container to its next stitching position where the conveyor will again be blocked.

' The conveyor is provided with lugs 8* which may be disposed about the chains in any desired interspaced arrangement de-.

pending on the size of the containers to be stitched. Disposed in the path of the lugs we have provided a plurality of shafts 9 each one of which has cam shaped fm-gers 10 and 11 on its ends in vertical alignment the cam 12 mounted thereon.

with the lugs 8 of the chain. When a lug on the chain engages a finger 10 the shaft 9 rotates and causes the other finger 11 to come in contact with the cam 12 which is the means for stopping the longitudinal movementof thechain conveyor. The chain conveyer will not be free to move forward until the trip rod comes in contact with the release cam 25 which rotates the shaft 13 Rotation of the shaft 13 moves the cam 12 out of engagement with the finger 11 which in turn leaves the linger 10 free to rotate so that the lug' 8 can move forward with the chain and bring another carton into stitching position. When the cams 12 are moved in a clockwise direction as viewed from the delivery end of the machine, the shafts 9 will be free to turn in a counter-clockwise direction as shown in Figure 2. This will release the engagement of the particular lug which is blocking the movement of the conveyor and the conveyor will againmove on. It should be understood that the blocking operation of the shafts 9 never occurs conjointly as no two fingers 10 are ever engaged at the same interval by the same lug. Each of the plurality of shafts is mounted in an adjustable bearing block 14:. The blocks have adjustment bolts 15 which engage T slots in a base plate 16 mounted on the machine frame. The preferred structure is clearly shown 'in Figure 6, and referring to Figure 1, it will be apparent that the shafts 9 may be set with any desired interspacing between them. The bearing blocks 14 have coiled torsion springs 16 secured thereto which springs engage flanges 17 on the respective shafts 9 and thus tend to resiliently hold the fingers 10 in chain blocking position.

The stitcher which we have illustrated is driven by a belt 17 which engages the stitcher drive shaft 17' (Figure For cont-rolling the stitcher operation we have provided a trip clutch of well known design which is released for operation by means of a trip bar 18 normally held in inhibiting posit-ion by a spring 19. \Vith the downward movement of the member 18, as shown in Figure at, the clutch takes hold and the stitching machine is driven. Each one of the shafts 9 has a crank 19 on the end opposite the cam finger 10 and bosses 19 on these cranks engage links 20 on which links are mou'nted adjustable lugs 21. These lugs trip the stitching release mechanism and bring it to the position indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 4. The member 18 hasa stud 19 extending therefrom which is engaged by a yoked end of a rocker arm 20. The rocker arm has a projecting finger 22, which. with movement of a lug '21 and prior tothe blocking of the cam 11, rocks the rocker in a clockwise direction .andso lowers the trip bar 18 which will release the trip finger and start the stitching machine. By extending the rocker arm 20 and linking a crank arm 22* thereto a control shaft 22 ma be extended across the frame of the macli ine to control the operation of another stitching machine.

The head of the stitching machine indi 'cated at 23 carries with it an arm 24 which near the lowermost portion of the stroke of the head or during its downward travel bears against a cam 25 mounted on the longitudi-na-lly extending shaft 18.. Thus a cycle of operation consists in a lug 8 on the chain striking a cam 10. A shaft 9 will be rocked a partial revolution in a counter-clockwise direction as shown in Figure 2 until the respective cam 11 on,the shaft 9 bears against its respective cam 12 on the shaft 13. Prior to the blocking of the shaft 9 its rotation will rock the crank 19 and its respective link 20, which will cause the clutch rocker 20 to be moved and the stitching machine started in operation. Before it has completed its stitching stroke however, the arm 24 has engaged the cam 25 on the shaft 13 and released the cams 11 and the fingers 10 from engagement with the lug of the chain. The lug'of the chain being released, the conveyor moves to the next position where a cam finger 10 on another shaft- 9 is set for blocking the further movement of the conveyor. It will be apparent that with the plurality of shafts 9 which are provided and with the wide range of adjustability which the bearing blocks 14 of the shafts 9 have, that single stitches may be inserted in a container carried by the conveyor in a wide range of predetermined positions.

The machine which We have shown is particularly designed for inserting a single stitch in each of two positions in a folded over flap of an open top container. The blank from which the open top container is made is shown at 26. There are longitudinal fiaps 27 integrally secured to end flaps 28. The end flaps have extensions 29 which are folded in and stitched, as indicated at 29, after the longitudinal flaps have been folded in. The container is then bent with the flaps extending at right angles to the main body of the container and the con necting flaps 30 which connect the side and end flaps are tucked in between the end flaps and the stitched extensions 29 so that the container will be permanently in'position for use. Of course with this type of container two parts of similar structure are made which interlock by means of the engageinent of the flaps.

For handling the type of container re ferred to we have provided a supply compartment, as shown in Figure 7, consisting of blocks 30 on which the ends of the containers rest one above another. Before inserting the stack of containers in the supply compartment, the longitudinal flaps are folded inwardly flatwise with the bodies of the containers. The lugs 8 engage the edge of the bottom container only and carry the container along on the chain from left to right as indicated in Figure 1. The outer extension flaps 29, during their movement on the conveyor, engage a turn over plate 31 as shown in Figure 5, which folds over the extension 29 flatwise with the body of the container in which position the stitches are inserted. Two of the shafts 9 are so set that as the doubled over extensions of the container move under the stitching portion of the stitching machine, the conveyor is stopped, then allowed to move and then stopped again, and a stitch is inserted in the desired position, in each of the two positions in the container which it is desired to reinforce.

It will be apparent that there are many different applications of the principle involved in our invention for stitching different types of containers than the specific type shown for purposes of illustration. Adjustments for inserting more than two stitches on each side of a container are pro vided in the plurality of shafts 9. WVe have shown only four shafts 9 but it should be understood that any desired number may be provided. It will also be within the scope of our invention to stitch different types of containers, cartons and paper receptacles by a similar process.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination with a wire stitching machine, a continuously movable conveyor operated by impositive means for conveying articles to be stitched, means for controlling the movement of the conveyor by positively blocking the same while an article is being stitched, means for controlling the operation of the stitching machine to cause an operation thereof, and means connecting said last mentioned means with the means for controlling the movement of the conveyor.

2. In combination with a wire stitching machine, a conveyor for conveying articles to be stitched operated by impositive means, means for blocking the movement of the conveyor while an article is being stitched, means for controlling the operation of the stitching machine to cause an operation thereof, and means for connecting said conveyor blocking means and said means controlling the operation of the stitching machine.

3. In combination with a wire stitching machine, a conveyor for conveying articles to be stitched operated by impositive means, means for blocking the movement of the conveyor while an article is being stitched, means for controlling the operation of the stitching machine to cause an operation thereof, and means for connecting said conveyor blocking means and said means controlling the operation of the stitching machine, said impositive means comprising a friction clutch.

4. In combination with a wire stitching machine, a conveyor for conveying articles to be stitched operated by impositive means, means for intermittently blocking the movement of the conveyor while an article is being stitched in more than one position thereon, and means for controlling a sequence ofope'rations of the stitching machine at intervals corresponding to the intermittent blocking operations, and means for connecting said intermittent blocking means and said stitching machine controlling means.

5. In combination With a Wire stitching machine, a conveyor for conveying articles to be stitched operated by impositive means, means for intermittently blocking the movement of the conveyor While an article is being stitched in more than one position thereon and means for controlling a sequence of operations of the stitching machine at intervals corresponding to the intermittent blocking operations, and means for connecting said intermittent blocking means and said stitching machine controlling means, said last mentioned means being ad justable for varying the intervals of operation of said stitching machine and said con Veyor blocking means.

6. In combination with a Wire stitching machine, a movable conveyor for conveying articles to be stitched having impositive driving means, means for intermittently blocking said conveyor While a series of stitches is inserted in spaced positionson one of said articles, means for controllng a sequence of operations of the stitching machine, and means operatively connected with said stitching machine for releasing said conveyor blocking means, said conveyor having a series of spaced lugs thereon, and said means for controlling the sequence of operations of said stitching machine comprising a series of movable members having portions disposed in the path of said lugs.

SAMUEL BERGSTEIN. ARTHUR LINDNER. 

